Neighbours of a pensioner whose home was left gutted after a chip pan fire say they are rallying round to help him.

The 81-year-old, named locally as Joey had a “lucky escape” on Saturday as flames raged from his home in Bryn Garmon, Mold.

Dramatic video footage, shared with the Daily Post, showed the ferocity of the blaze and eye witnesses described hearing “explosions” coming from the property as thick black plumes billowed into the air.

Today, residents in the street said they were thankful Joey escaped unhurt and pledged to support him after his ordeal.

Liz Catherall who lives next door said: “I was doing the washing up when I heard shouting coming from outside so I pulled the blinds aside and saw an orange glow.

Dramatic footages shows flames raging from the property

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“I went outside to see the flames raging so I ran round to Joey’s and saw the fire in the kitchen and the blinds falling down.

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“Joey came out of the front door and his brother Keith, who lives in the street, came over to get him.

“The firefighters arrived pretty quickly and managed to stop the fire spreading to any other properties.”

She added: “Lots of people in the street rallied round to help him, we are quite close and look out for each other.

“Joey lives on his own and his house is gutted.

“He has a few relatives in the street and between us we will all look after him, the main thing is he’s ok.”

Flames ripped through this house in Bryn Garmon in Mold where an 81-year-old man escaped unhurt. (Image: Daily Post Wales)

Another neighbour, who did not want to be named said: “I live opposite Joey and could hear people in the street.

“I came to the front door and saw fire coming from Joey’s house.

“His niece came out and we knocked on other neighbour’s doors to evacuate them.

“The fire took hold really fast and it was quite a scary sight to see.

“Joey has lots of family members and friends in the street who will help him through this.

“We’re just glad he got out.”

Three crews from Mold, Buckley and Deeside were called to the scene just after 1pm on Saturday.

Fire in Bryn Garmon, Mold (Image: KEVAN CONNOR)

After the incident, firefighters stepped up warnings about the dangers of leaving cooking unattended.

They said the occupant had left a chip pan unattended and returned to the kitchen to find it well alight.

Kevin Jones, community safety manager for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: “Fortunately the man was uninjured by the incident, however, leaving a chip pan unattended for any length of time can have disastrous results as the oil can easily overheat and ignite – even the smallest distraction could lead to a fire in a matter of moments.”